


The Sun Is in the Sky (Oh Why Oh Why)

by misura



Category: Dublin Murder Squad Series - Tana French
Genre: F/M, Missions Gone Wrong, Protectiveness, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:01:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24353269
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Antoinette gets unlucky during an undercover op.
Relationships: Antoinette Conway/Fleas
Comments: 8
Kudos: 3
Collections: Hurt Comfort Exchange 2020





	The Sun Is in the Sky (Oh Why Oh Why)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ashling](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashling/gifts).



Antoinette knew her cover had been blown, which meant the smart thing to do was to get out of here quick. Now, in fact, if not before.

On the other hand, she'd spent a lot of time and effort getting as far as she had, and it seemed a waste to walk away from all of this without at least _something_ to show for her hard work.

So she'd come back, determined to find that something. _Five minutes, then I'll go. Nobody's going to come looking for me here within the next five minutes._

Turned out, she was half right: nobody'd come looking for her, but somebody had come. Sheer bad luck.

They'd dragged her in somewhere to do some angry yelling, which didn't hurt. Antoinette figured they'd move on to something that would soon enough, but she didn't think they'd be dumb enough to actually kill her. Bad things happened when you killed a garda, everyone knew that.

She told herself that she'd be smart about this. She wasn't going to put up a fight she'd already lost. She was going to remember her training and keep them from doing any damage some bandages and rest couldn't fix. It'd be like a game, kind of, and she'd win.

And then Fleas walked in and ruined everything.

"What's this, then?" Fleas asked, still in character, and Antoinette willed him to stay in character and walk away. Sure, they'd come in together, but Fleas was good enough to spin that, to act like he hadn't known about her.

Instead, without even waiting for an answer, Fleas punched one guy on the nose and kicked another one in the balls, which still left about a dozen of them unharmed and extra annoyed now that it turned out Antoinette hadn't been alone.

It was chaos, more or less, nothing like the original plan, where one or two of them would have taken turns hitting Antoinette and the rest would've just watched. Fleas switched from offense to defense, trying to shield her from the worst of it. Antoinette could see the expression on his face go from furious to determined to 'too stubborn to move'.

Then they pulled him off of her, Mr Bloody Nose and Mr I Got Kicked in the Nuts By a Guy Half My Size and My Fragile Male Pride Can't Handle That, and she couldn't see his face anymore.

Looking at Fleas's face now, Antoinette felt sick.

If you ignored the bruises and bandages and the fact that he was lying in a hospital bed, he looked peaceful, almost like he was taking a nap. He also looked small, and too still. Fleas was always in motion, always full of energy.

The doctors had told her that with three months of physical therapy and a bit of luck, they were very optimistic about his chances of walking again. Half a year from now, he might well be as good as new.

_I could have handled it. I didn't need you._

Feeling guilty wouldn't do anything to help Fleas anymore than chewing him out would have done. Still, Antoinette knew that a sick, small part of her had been happy that Fleas had stepped in, that he wouldn't leave her alone with the bad guys.

_I need you to be all right. I need to know I'm not responsible for putting you in a wheelchair for the rest of your life._

_Please._

"Bad luck." Fleas shook his head. "I swear, bad luck's ruined more undercover ops than anything else you name. Not your fault, so."

_It feels like my fault,_ Antoinette thought. Not her cover getting blown, maybe: Fleas was right about that bit. But deciding to stay, and wanting Fleas to break his own cover instead of leaving her, and letting him shield her with his own body instead of the other way around - those had been choices.

"How do you feel?" Antoinette asked, then wanted to hit herself for asking such a stupid question.

Fleas grinned, like he thought it was funny. "Felt better, def. Worse too, but. You?"

_Guilty. Like a horrible, selfish person._ "I'm not the one lying in a hospital bed."

"My choice," Fleas said. "My call. Not on you. You know, right?" He ducked his head a bit, as if he worried that she might decide to hit him.

_I know that if it weren't for me, you'd be fine for real._ "Knowing isn't the same as liking."

"Sometimes," Fleas said. He winked. "Speaking from personal experience here, yeah?"

Antoinette shook her head.

Fleas sighed. "Well, that'll teach me want to play the hero to try and impress a girl I like, eh?"

Antoinette scoffed. "Not a lot of 'playing' about it, as far as I can see."

"Flattered?" Fleas said.

"You scared me." Not back then, Antoinette realized, though he should have. Back when she'd first seen him in the hospital. Somehow, none of it had quite seemed real before that; she'd been all about reacting, moving in the moment, focused on here and now and me. Unprofessional.

"Not flattered," Fleas decided. "Sorry, not sorry?"

_'A girl I like,'_ he'd said. She owed him a response to that bit. He deserved one. "Maybe - we could go have a drink some time when you're all better again."

Fleas's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Sure."

If Antoinette hadn't seen him be a brilliant undercover, she'd have worried about his ability to keep a solid poker face. As it was - _well, guess I've got the next three months to decide where to go and what to wear._


End file.
